Staffing Solutions
Let's not forget the employer

With so much electronic, printed and broadcast information aimed at helping job-seekers develop a career, write a polished resume, and provide the flawless answer to any interview question, I thought it was about time to balance the scales and give a helping hand to the employers. I will start by reminding employers that they are responsible for half of any employment process and by including a few important components in their recruitment system they can help insure that quality employees are always hired.

Inform
Companies must remember that other companies compete not only for clients, but for good staff as well. To insure the attention of high quality jobseekers companies must be active. Top candidates are like smart-shoppers, they spend a lot of time learning about their options and often make choices based on quality and professionalism. Because of this, presenting the best image of your company to candidates can really go a long way in interesting of the right candidates.
Sell the Company: Utilize your website to its full advantage by including an "employment" page that highlights the positives of working in your company. Most jobseekers today use the web to research prospective employers before making their application decisions.
Create a Brief: During interviews provide candidates with a package that includes important information about your company and day-to-day practices. Include copies of brochures or advertising that may help a candidate better understand the sorts of products and services they will be involved with.
Encourage Loyalty: Be honest and it will not only motivate and inspire the people you hire, but it will make interviewees more likely to be honest with you about their true work place desires. This can help eliminate new hires that don't make it passed probation and leaves you with energetic long term commitments.

Search
Employers always have the right to choose who they hire, but this power of choice only becomes valuable when there are a reasonable number of quality candidates to choose from.
Beyond Introductions: Many employers rely only on referrals as their main source of candidates as it is a cheap and personable option. Unfortunately, as in many things, in recruiting you pay for what you get. By investing a small outlay in job advertisements, or using the resume databases a search firm may provide you can greatly expand your options.
Get the Best Candidates: Often the best candidates are not jobseekers, but are satisfied employees. These workers may currently be working in the same or a related field, have relevant up-to-date knowledge and market contacts. They can add dimensions to your company far beyond the salary they command and in very workable timeframes. By maintaining a list of the players in your industry, or by employing a recruiting firm to track them down, can insure you have a good pool of people to choose from.

Test
In a role play situation you force a candidate, who is already nervous, to think on their feet. It will give them an opportunity to show their wit; it will give you a chance to see them under pressure.
Give a Hypothetical Situation: It should be related to the position at hand, and encourage freedom and imagination, but the structure should be tightly regulated by you to insure that each candidate is given the same information and therefore the same chance. An example is a difficult problem with an "either/or" solution which you follow up by asking why they would make that choice. The aim is to uncover the candidate's depth of understanding of that work role.
Emphasize the Process: Make the candidate walk you step by step through a process that may have to do if employed. You may ask or give specifics at anytime. Note the things the candidate leaves out of the process. Aspects that a candidate doesn't know, has forgotten or feels are unimportant can tell a lot about their competency level. Notice how quickly (or problem free) they come to a resolution. This can indicate how confident and positive the candidate is, but can also be a measure of inexperience.

Check
We have all heard various horror stories about a former member of a staff blatantly cheating the company or leaving two days after starting work. One way or another all companies suffer from staff misconduct at some level. In most cases this behavior is due to poor job fit or a personal trait that has surfaced during the candidate's work history.
Red Flag the Negative Tones: If there are any negative comments made about a previous boss or a company, you should be on your guard. Don't dismiss the need to enquire further. Negative observations made by candidates are great clues as to how well they will fit with your company, and may identify potential risk areas. However, many candidates will mask their negative opinions of previous employers by putting on an "interview face" by memorizing standard answers to typical interview questions. To combat this, ask for the weaknesses of a previous boss, or improvements that they would have made to their previous company. The more understanding you have of candidates' negative ideas means the more chance of hiring a candidate that will have positive experiences in your company.
Ask for Someone that they Don't Offer: The references that candidates offer up are all people that they have a good relationship with, whether it is a previous boss or not. It will be hard for these people to be completely objective. It is much more valuable to pick a company from the resume (a short working period perhaps) and inquire in depth about their work history. Find both their direct manager and their subordinates. Encourage referees to think of weaknesses by asking for correctable behaviors.

A good rule of thumb when recruiting is a little up-front work can go a long way. By spending a small amount of time and being prepared to outlay for some costs in the beginning, you can insure that in the longer term your company's human capital will provide great returns on your investment.